Facing One's Shadow
by Kayokane
Summary: In an incident during the breach Ruby finds herself separated from her team. Alone and afraid wandering the abandoned tunnels of Mountain Glenn, she never would have thought the greatest monster she would have to face would come from her own heart.
1. Black of Heart

" _Oh? You're awake,"_ The familiar voice rang in Ruby's ears, " _I was expecting this to take longer."_

"Who?" Ruby responded deliriously to the voice. Her vision was still blurred, but she could tell she was in the tunnels that connected Vale to Mountain Glenn.

" _Me?"_ The voice questioned, _"I don't have an identity."_

"What do you-" Ruby cut off as her vision cleared. Standing before her was a girl her age. She looked almost exactly like Ruby, so much so that every minor difference was obvious to her eyes. Her hair was cut like hers but was deep black with no red tint to it. Her silver eyes were framed by a deep black sclera. The girl's clothes mirrored Ruby's own in pattern, but were white with black lining and her cloak was pitch black.

" _People like me,"_ The not-Ruby started to answer Ruby's unfinished question, _"Since we aren't acknowledged by society, we aren't given names like yourself."_ She looked sad admitting it.

" _We have nothing."_

Ruby thought for a moment, she hated the idea that a person could be born into the world with no identity. "Kuro!"

" _Hmm?"_ The girl was taken aback by Ruby's sudden outburst.

"Well, you don't have a name right?" Ruby asked earnestly

" _Correct."_ The girl responded almost mechanically.

"So how about Kuro? It means black. I think it suits you." Ruby explained quickly, the words mashing together and barely intelligible.

" _You acknowledge me?"_ She questioned.

"You are standing right in front of me. So, do you like it?" Ruby's eyes shined with hope as she responded.

" _Yes, it's nice. I think."_ Kuro responded, amused at Ruby's enthusiasm.

"Well with that settled, uh, what happened? Why are we here?" She gestured around herself to emphasize her point.

" _I have always been here,"_ Kuro responded, _"The racket you made earlier woke me up."_

"Oh, sorry! Well, you see we were trying to stop these bad people from leading Grimm into Vale, but-but," Ruby winced, her head hurt tremendously, "W-we failed to stop them, I was fighting Grimm in the city. Then-" She winced again as she struggled to remember what happened, "Then I was surprised by an Ursa sneaking up on me, I think, it must have knocked me back into the tunnels."

" _That seems to be what happened, yes."_ Kuro responded, _"It's a good thing that you are okay."_

"We should find a way above ground, shouldn't we?" Ruby asked trying to remember her survival classes.

" _That would be the best approach, although it is a shame that they closed the tunnel after you fell in. It would have been easier to get back if they hadn't."_

"Yeah, but with all the Grimm-" Ruby winced again and noticed something, "Wait, where are all the Grimm there should be like a thousand of them or something?"

" _I dealt with them."_ Kuro responded, _"They were too loud."_

"You dealt with them all by yourself!" Ruby was astonished to hear that this girl no older than herself had defeated an entire hoard of Grimm alone, "But how, you don't seem to have a weapon on you?"

" _Secret,"_ Kuro winked, _"We'll need to head towards Mountain Glenn to find an exit, there are quite a few holes in the tunnel from the explosions earlier. We could use one of those."_

"Good idea, let's go!"

With that, the two girls backtracked through the tunnels talking among themselves. Ruby was surprised at how much, besides their looks, that she had in common with Kuro. They passed by several of the destroyed Paladin mechs Ruby and Doctor Oobleck had fought on the train, and further still they passed by the first of the train cars that had carried a bomb in it.

" _It looks like this one didn't break a hole in the ceiling,"_ Kuro said pointing up at the unmarred ceiling above the car.

"Guess we need to go further still then, right?"

" _Seems so."_

The two continued along the tunnel, but after a bit of complaining from Ruby the two decided to stop and Kuro checked Ruby's head to assess the damage.

" _It seems you are suffering from a concussion of some form."_ Kuro stated after a few rudimentary tests, _"We should take it a bit slower, so you don't pass out. I do believe I am required to remind you that you should not fall asleep in your current state."_

"I won't. I am a little tired, but I can hold out," Ruby responded understanding her situation, "It's the headache that's bugging me. I feel like there's an army of those unicycling bagpipe guys in my head. All playing the most annoying notes they can find."

" _That is an... intriguing way to put it."_

After a short break, the girls walked further down the tunnel. Their discussion bounced back and forth between Ruby's two favourite subjects, fairy tales and weapons. Ruby talked about her favourite stories, favourite weapons, and the difficulties she faced designing her sniper-scythe. A few minutes passed as Ruby gleefully recounted tales of heroes and monsters when they came upon a group of bodies all wearing the White Fang uniform.

" _Hmm, these are the bad guys you were talking about, aren't they? Did you kill them all?"_

"What!? No, I- I-"

" _Hitting them with the back of your scythe doesn't change much on a moving train. Those that fell off died, and you are responsible for that."_

"Oh, but they were bad guys," Ruby tried to defend herself from Kuro outburst.

" _What defines good or bad? I wonder how many of these men and women were friends with Blake."_ Kuro's stated, her voice emotionless.

"Wait, what? Blake's friends?"

" _You mentioned Blake was a member of the White Fang once. I was just curious how many of her old friends did you kill today. Those who were only considered extremists by association."_

"I haven't mentioned Blake to you, how do-"

" _You did so. You're just forgetting because of you-"_

"I did not! How do you know about her?"

" _You never noticed her nasty glares then, did you?"_

"Glares?"

Kuro smiled, _"Yes every time you were alone with her and bothered her about her ears, or all those times Velvet was bullied by Cardin and you did nothing to stop it, did you not notice? Just how terrible of a leader are you?"_

Ruby was shocked at Kuro's sudden change in demeanour, "But, but," She was at a loss for words. Did Blake hate her because she never helped Velvet when she was bullied? Why hadn't she noticed? Was she really such a terrible leader?

" _I mean, honestly, how often do the two of you even talk?"_ Kuro continued.

"We- I-" Ruby was starting to cry, "Please stop. Why are you being so mean?"

" _Because I'm your friend, unlike her,"_ Kuro stated, clapping her hands together dramatically, _"Well, enough with the reality check, we have to find a way out still."_

"Right..." Tears were still flowing from Ruby's eyes as the two started again down the tunnels.

 _-Above Ground-_

"I've found Crescent Rose!" Blake shouted drawing everyone's attention to her.

"Really, where was it?" Yang asked, the panic palpable in her voice.

"Near where the breach was," She replied, "I- I think Ruby fell into the breach."

"Good work, Miss Belladonna." Professor Goodwitch "The three of you will head back to Beacon with us. We'll need to talk to Ozpin about setting up a search team for Miss Rose."

Oobleck nodded his agreement with her words and his face showed obvious disease about the situation, "Don't worry Miss Xiao Long, We will save your sister."


	2. A Friend in Need

_-Ozpin's Office-_

Yang paced shakily in the office situated near the top of Beacon's central tower. All around her, the gears of the clockwork mechanism clicked away the seconds. Her thoughts turned to Ruby lost and alone in Mountain Glenn. She had failed to keep and eye on her and now she could very well be dead. Killed by the ravenous Grimm that were trapped in the tunnels when Professor Goodwitch sealed the breach.

Weiss stood by the clock-face window behind Ozpin's desk, worry and impatience clear on her face. Any other time the view from the office would have been magnificent, but right now the pristine orange sunset had lost much of its radiance. She held the collapsed form of Crescent Rose in her hand. When Blake had found the weapon Weiss had immediately assumed the worse. Though Ruby was one of the best fighters in their year, without her weapon she was little more than a wet noodle.

Blake was leaning by the elevator watching the entire room. She was the only one of the group who looked to have a remote state of calm on her face, but the mask she wore was betrayed by the slight hint of worry in her eyes. As much as she'd like to assume Ruby would be fine on her own down in Mountain Glenn, Blake knew with each passing second her disadvantages in the underground grew exponentially.

The doors beside Blake slid open and the three students all looked to see Doctor Oobleck and Professor Ozpin enter the room.

"Students, I'm sorry for the delay," Ozpin was the first to speak. His voice was as calm as it always was having no hint of the fear and worry pervasive throughout the room.

"What the hell!" Yang shouted, her eyes red with anger, "My baby sister is out there all alone and we're just standing here waiting. Why aren't we out there looking for her?"

"The search team will be leaving right after we are done here Miss Xiao Long," Ozpin replied. If Yang's anger disturbed him in any way he didn't show it, "You and your team, however, will not be part of this mission."

"What!? Why?" It was Weiss who spoke next, "Ruby is our leader, we can't just sit back and do nothing while she's in danger."

"Girls, your auras have not yet fully recovered from the battle earlier today." It was Oobleck who responded this time, "You three are in no condition to return to Mountain Glenn. Due to the circumstances, we'll have to extract Miss Rose through Mountain Glenn itself, as we can not risk opening any of Vale's sealed entrances to the tunnel network while the city is still in a state of panic from the Grimm attack." He spoke slower than he usually did letting his words sink in and impress the situation onto the three remaining members of Team RWBY.

"Then why hasn't the search team left yet?" Yang refused to calm down, not while her sister was in danger, "It's been _hours_ since the breach and not a damn thing has been done!"

"Rushing into a situation like this will only add more bodies to the pile, and put your sister in even more danger Miss Xiao Long," Ozpin moved passed his desk and stood beside Weiss near the window, "Three hundred and seventy-two injured, twenty-nine dead and yet only one person is still unaccounted for. That is the cost of the breach."

"Sir?" Blake was hesitant to speak, "We-"

Ozpin cut her off, "I understand your team did their best to stop a catastrophe, and despite your fatigue, you continued to fight back against the Grimm until reinforcements arrived. I am proud of all three of you. We are doing everything we can to bring your sister, your leader, back safe and sound." He looked out the window his calm mask slipping slightly before reasserting itself, "I have pulled one of Vale's best out of retirement specifically for this mission."

As if on cue the door chimed and slid open once more.

"Dad?"

"I got your message Oz," Taiyang strode into the room, fury unmistakable on his face, "What is the meaning of this?" He looked around the room, none of Team _WBY were able to look him in the eyes, "Where's Ruby?"

"Wait, he didn't tell you?" Yang asked incredulously.

"Tell me what?" He looked from his eldest daughter to Beacon's headmaster. "Oz, where is my daughter?"

"Miss Rose is currently labelled _missing in action_ , and has been since the assault on Vale earlier today," Ozpin answered, raising his hand to silence the enraged father before he began a tirade, "I have asked you here, Tai, because I want to put you in charge of the team that will be returning to Mountain Glenn to locate and extract her from the city."

Taiyang stared at Ozpin for a moment or two, many emotions flaring across his face hinting at several words left unspoken, "I'm in, what do I have to work with."

"Doctor Oobleck, if you would."

"Of course, I was the huntsman that Team RWBY was assigned to shadow for their first mission. I will be guiding the search party through the old city towards the few locations where Miss Rose will likely try to reach if she is on the move. General Ironwood has graciously decided to dispatch a squad of his troops as well as a field medic to aid in our search."

"So, two Hunters and a squad of Atlesian troops."

"Correct."

"And where are these locations where you think Ruby will be."

"There are three locations we will need to check, the first is the site where we set up camp for the night prior to finding the White Fang outpost in the area. The second will be the White Fang outpost itself, and finally, we will be checking the tunnel that connects Mountain Glenn to Vale where the breach point was located. Beyond that, the search will be based on your orders until we run out of options or find Miss Rose."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, it is."

"Then prepare to move out. Contact Ironwood's men and tell them to meet us at the airship landing in three minutes."

"No need, they are already suited up and on standby. Their Bullhead is awaiting our arrival on Landing Number Three."

Taiyang merely nodded to Oobleck and the two had only just started moving to leave when Yang spoke up again, "Wait, I'm coming t-"

" _ **No!**_ " Her father roared, causing Yang to flinch back.

"But-"

"This is not a debate, Yang, I already have once daughter lost and in danger, I'm not going to put you in harm's way as well." Taiyang's words were absolute. He and Oobleck left without any further discussion.

After some time, Ozpin finally dismissed the three students telling them to get some rest. Weiss could only think of one thing as they left the room, she had never seen the boisterous brawler look so small as she when she cowered back from her father's words.

* * *

 _A/N:_

 _And here we are at the end of Chapter 2: A Friend in Need. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I would really appreciate it if everyone could leave a review telling me what they think of the story._

 _For those of you wondering about my other story The Fox and The Fang, I've rushed that story out without really planning it properly and that is already biting me in the butt. Early writer's block and several complete redesigns of the next character I wanted to introduce have led me to decide to put that story on Hiatus while I plan in out properly._

 _~Kayokane_


	3. Ice or Snow

_UPDATE_

 _A/N: I feel this story may be pushing it's rating a bit too much, As of now I'm upping it to an M rating._

* * *

 _-The Tunnels-_

Ruby dashed ahead, more to get away from Kuro than to actually escape the underground. She didn't seem to be in danger here, as no matter where she looked there were no Grimm in sight. The further Ruby ran the less real everything seemed. The tunnel seemed to loop back on itself infinitely and again for the dozenth time she ran passed a smiling Kuro, just sitting by the pile of dead White Fang members.

 _"Come now, Rosepetal, you must have figured it out by now."_ The girl taunted. _"There is no way out. You should be thankful, after all, you're stuck in here with me not out there with the Grimm."_

Ruby stopped, her headache was getting worse by the minute and running wasn't helping any. "But why? Where are we then?" She decided to ask Kuro. She was trapped here with her, so there was no harm in asking.

 _"The Theatre of the Mind. The Domain of Dreams. It has many names all depending on who you ask,"_ Kuro responded, _"You see, I wasn't lying when I said you had a concussion, grade three to be exact. You are currently unconscious, probably going to die, alone and afraid in these forsaken tunnels. In your fear you called out, looking for anything that could distract you from the inevitable."_

"And you answered?"

" _Yes, lucky you,"_ Kuro laughed, _"I'm the dark half of your soul. In fact, in answering your call I probably bought you some time. As you know, Grimm rely on negative emotions to hunt and since you are currently trapped in your own unconscious mind, your emotions aren't being properly manifested. In short, you are safe from them, because I've pulled you too far into your own mind for them to see you."_

Ruby listened to the shade's explanation. She was certain that Kuro was leaving something out, only telling her a half truth, but she decided to leave it there. Pushing her too far may just get her killed.

" _Now, normally you would just be able to push me away and ignore me as you always did,"_ She continued, walking towards Ruby and grabbing her by her chin. Kuro forced Ruby to look into her eyes, those deep silver pools surrounded by black, _"but in your current condition, you are merely a bystander within your own head. I've been waiting a long time to have your attention and soon you'll see the world as I do."_

Ruby meekly pulled herself away, as she uncomfortable with her closeness to her shade and was surprised that Kuro released her so readily. Ruby looked around; the tunnel had vanished. The entire world warped around the two of them, forming itself into a familiar looking bedroom with two make-shift bunk beds sitting side by side.

 _-RWBY's Dorm-_

Kuro sat atop their bunk, hanging precariously from its ropes strapped to the ceiling. Yang, Weiss, and Blake were all present as well. Blake was holding back a furious red-eyed Yang, who was shouting something Ruby couldn't quite make out despite her proximity to her sister.

" _Oh, right now, Weiss is finally getting to bask in the glory of leadership that you've denied her for far too long."_ Kuro started, _"We both know she's deserved it far more than we did. I mean, you actually thought she cared about teamwork didn't you?"_

"Shut up," Ruby growled trying to push out against Kuro's control since this was her mind she should be able to do something.

" _Please don't try so hard, it'll only hurt more when your fantasy collapses."_ The shade laughed as Ruby collapsed to the ground panting, _"Now where was I? Oh yes, Weiss never cared about teamwork. She never cared about you. No, she was only waiting, biding her time, until you made a mistake that would lead to her finally gaining what she truly wanted. To lead our team,"_ The acid in Kuro's tone was obvious, _"She hated us. She hated you. We were never good enough for her, who would be for a Schnee after all? But no, no matter how much we tried to improve ourselves for her, all she ever did was insult us subtly behind our back."_

"Please, stop." The door was locked, Ruby couldn't escape the tirade of her dark half. She was reduced to tears again as the shadow kept pushing and pushing. Kuro was smiling. It felt like an eternity passed while Ruby sobbed in a corner waiting for the shade to continue her torment, but it wasn't her voice that broke the silence.

" _Now that Ruby's gone and I'm the leader, there are a few ground rules I'd like to establish,"_ Weiss stated, completely ignorant of the girl crying in the corner or her doubled sitting on the bunk, _"First off, What I say goes. No debate. No discussion. If either of you steps out of line, I'll punish you."_

" _Of course, Miss Schnee,"_ Blake said, uncharacteristically docile.

" _You bitch,"_ Yang responded loudly, struggling against the faunus's grip, _"Like hell I'd listen to you. My sister is barely a day inside her grave and you're already spitting on it!"_

Ruby watched as Weiss slowly rose from her seat, _"Is that dissent I hear?"_ She asked rhetorically with an icy chill to her voice, _"We can't have that, no..."_ She drew Myrtenaster from her waist. _"Blake, hold her still."_

" _Yes, ma'am,"_ Blake said, a hint of joy in her voice.

Ruby stared on in horror as Weiss sauntered towards her sister, but before she reached her the world vanished again. Surrounded by the black nothingness Ruby curled up into a ball. She sobbed uncontrollably as Kuro hummed.

 _"_ _Looks like you have some fight left after all. Good, I was hoping for a challenge."_ Kuro laughed again, _"We've always had an over-active imagination, and now I can turn it against you."_

 _-Beacon-_

"Why am I so useless?" Yang sobbed, her voice slightly muffled as her hands covered her face.

She and Weiss were in their dorm room, Blake was keeping an eye on the airship landing for any sign of Ruby and the rescue team's return.

"You're not useless, Yang" Weiss stated flatly, her voiced laden with fatigue. None of them could get any rest while Ruby was still MIA.

"Yes I am, Ruby is missing and it-"

"If you say it's your fault _one_ more time, I'll slap you Xiao Long. We got separated in combat and lost track of each other. If anything it's my fault, since she's my partner, not yours." Weiss all but shouted in frustration.

"She's my sister, though," Yang shot back, "It's my job to look after her!"

"We can bounce back and forth on the blame game as much as you like, but in the end, we are going to have to trust that Doctor Oobleck and your father will bring her back. There's nothing else we can do but have hope." Weiss was almost growling as she finished. They had gone through this same discussion probably fifteen times by now.

"So, what are you going to do when they bring Ruby back?"

"If-"

"When."

"When they bring her back, I'm going to hug her forever," Yang's laugh had no life behind it, all her hope was drowned with sorrow.

"I can see why Ozpin and the others were so adamant we didn't go with them. In our state, we'd just be giant neon Grimm magnets."

"Yeah," Yang shook her head, "Damn I'm supposed to be the optimistic one aren't I?"

"No, that was Ruby's job," Yang growled slightly, "You just had all the bad jokes."

"Weiss, my jokes are nothing to _Schneeze_ at."

Weiss just groaned in response.

"No? Sorry, my heart's not in it right now."

"Don't apologize, you're already better off than you were five minutes ago."

"Thanks, Ice Queen."

It was nice to see some of the light return to the brawler's face.


	4. Foundation

_-Dreamscape-_

The world shifted again.

"No..."

Trees formed all around them and a small cabin appeared in a clearing beside them. Ruby knew that she was back on Patch and that this cabin was her home. She watched as the door burst open and two children sprinted out. The younger of the two wore a red hooded vest with a red cape and a skirt. She had deep red hair that was almost black at the roots and her eyes were a beautiful silver colour. The elder wore a dirty beige tunic with a light brown belt around her waist. Her leggings barely went passed her knees. The younger sister chased the elder around the clearing. They didn't have a care in the world.

The door of the cabin shut softly and Ruby turned to look. A woman stood there watching the two younger versions of Ruby and Yang. She was the most amazing person Ruby knew, someone she would never forget as long as she lived. All Ruby could make out of the woman was the long white cloak she wore. The hood was pulled up covering her face and only a few stray locks of her long and brilliant deep red hair were visible. The cloak itself draped around her and covered her body completely.

"Mom?" Ruby whispered. Just seeing her mother was enough to drive all the fear and sadness away from the tormented girl.

 _"Don't worry, she's not the subject of this story,"_ Ruby had forgotten Kuro was there, _"You know what day this is, don't you?"_

Ruby nodded, "Her last mission."

 _"Correct. She was always an amazing_ person," The shade grinned, _"I don't think I could use her against you even if I wanted too."_

Ruby glared at the shade, unable to trust her words.

Summer turned back to the cabin, _"The mission should only take a week. Yes, Yes I know. Oh, Tai, you worry too much. I'll be back before you know it. Take care of them for me."_

"Don't go" Ruby reached out to her mother as she began to walk towards the woods, "Please." Her voice was barely a whisper.

 _"Did you ever wonder why she never said goodbye to you or Yang?"_

Ruby nodded her head, "I never asked, but Yang did. Dad said mom hated farewells. That saying goodbye had a sense of finality to it. I always wished she did, though, I think that's what hurt the most. I missed my last chance to say 'I love you.'"

 _"This was the day I was born."_ Kuro said nodding to herself, _"This one regret was all it took."_

The world shifted back to the nothingness of the dreamscape. Ruby just stared at Kuro. In this moment, Ruby forgot her of dislike of the shade and felt some sympathy for her.

"Why show me this?"

Kuro smiled and Ruby flinched.

 _"So, where shall I take you next? Ah yes,"_ She chuckled with malicious glee and the world reformed around them. They were standing in the ruined temple where Ruby and her team had fought together for the first time. Kuro wasn't laughing anymore, _"Annoying brat,"_ She growled, _"How did you manage to wrestle control back?"_

Ruby faced the shade with only a single thought on her mind.

 _"Damn it..."_ She was backing off from the red-cloaked girl, _"I should've figured that would be a mistake."_

One misstep was all it took to shatter Kuro's control over the world she created. Ruby was tired of her games and was determined to end them now. The shade still had one option, though.

 _"Hold on Rosepetal,"_ Kuro held her hands forward confidently, _"Don't forget that if you push me away the Gri-"_

"Oobleck, get the medic, I've found her!" A voice echoed around them.

 _"Well, there goes Plan B."_ Kuro lamented rolling her eyes, _"I guess this is farewell. Dreams are such a fleeting thing after all."_

Ruby slashed with all her might and Kuro vanished as the world went black.

 _-The Tunnels-_

"She's waking up, sir!" a man shouted causing Ruby to flinch slightly. She opened her eyes slowly the world was an amalgamation of greys and browns. Blurred blob-like figures towered over her and one of them had a light shining right at her. She tried to move her arm to block it out, but she was strapped onto something. She panicked.

"Ruby, don't worry, it's me. It's dad." A familiar voice said, patting her head and causing her to wince.

"Miss Rose," another familiar voice coming from somewhere above her, "I need to ask you a few questions, they may seem a little strange, but I need you to answer them."

Ruby struggled to nod.

"Okay, first, do you remember what happened?"

She thought for what felt like forever through her headache. She spoke as she thought not really forming any complete thought, but trying her best to answer the question, "I.. I remember falling. There was dark.. Yeah darkness, lots of darkness. And... Kuro...?" Who was Kuro? Ruby swore that she knew the name as it floated through her mind, but she couldn't recall where it came from. She flinched noticeably as she tried to force the memories forward.

"Don't force it, answer as best you can. Next, what school do you go to?"

That was easy, "Signal Academy," She answered with absolute certainty.

"I see."

The questioning continued for some time. Her vision began to clear up as they were strapping her into the bullhead and she saw her father standing across from her. His face was filled with both fear and relief, she couldn't tell why, though. Next to him, she saw was a green haired man who wore glasses and had a funny hat. Ruby had his name on the tip of her tongue, but it wouldn't leave her lips. She floated in and out of awareness for the duration of the ship landed at Beacon and they took her to the infirmary.

The doctor spent a few minutes explaining her condition and telling her that she would need to stay in the infirmary until they were certain she had recovered. Ruby nodded and opened her mouth to ask something, but then the door exploded off its hinges.

"Ruby!" Her sister shouted as she basically vaulted across the room and pull the younger girl into a near bone-crushingly tight bear hug.

"You brute! The dolt just got back and you're already trying to kill her?"

"I think your sister needs air, Yang."

"Oh, Sorry," Yang chuckled nervously as she released her, "I was just so worried about you, sis."

Ruby was too busy gasping for air to respond.

"Welcome back Miss Rose," Ozpin entered the room with Professor Goodwitch just behind him, "You had us all worried, you know." If Ozpin had been worried, his face didn't show it. The same calm mask he always wore seemed unperturbed to Ruby.

"Miss Rose," Glynda started drawing the tired young girl's attention, "Due to recent events, the headmaster and I have decided to suspend your classes until further notice. Your homework will be forgiven while you recover and I'm sure Miss Schnee will have no issues in taking extra notes for you."

"Of course not, Professor," Weiss said pridefully.

"That's good, I don't think I can read Yang's writing." Ruby giggled slightly.

"My handwriting isn't that bad, is it?" Yang asked quietly looking at Blake.

"Wait, you mean you don't write your notes with a cypher?" She replied with mock shock.

"Traitor."

The team shared a laugh before Ruby flinched sharply and placed a hand on the side of her head.

"Sorry, it hurts to laugh."

The doctor cleared his throat, "Everyone that's enough socializing. Miss Rose needs time to rest and recover." He said with a clap, "That and visiting hours ended just over three hours ago, you all should be in bed." He pointed at the clock revealing that it was one in the morning. While Ruby was excused from classes, the rest of the team remembered that they had class in eight hours.

"Yes, that's right." Ozpin said, "Off you go, Miss Rose will be here in the morning," He showed a faint smile, "Unless a certain older sister plans on crushing her lungs in her sleep that is."

Yang flinched, "Heh, well Rubes, see you tomorrow. I'll be coming by every day until you're given a clean bill of health."

"Thanks, Yang."

"And we'll be here with her, to make sure she doesn't accidentally hug you to death before then," Weiss added.

With that everyone left, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts.


	5. A Step Back

The doctor paced anxiously around the office as Ozpin carefully read the sheet of paper he had given him. The headmaster called a meeting to follow up on Ruby's recovery and discuss whether or not she was ready to return to class. The paper stated that Ruby had almost fully recovered from her concussion and she scheduled to have the stitches over her eye removed the day after tomorrow.

"As you can see, she should be fully capable of returning to her academics once her stitches are removed. In fact, her partner has already been tutoring her on the classes missed since the incident last week." The doctor stated as Ozpin looked over to the anxious man.

"Yes, it seems so, but," The headmaster sighed, "How is it that a person trained so well in aura techniques needed stitches, doctor?"

"Well, her aura is still acting abnormally," The doctor admitted, "We don't know why, but her aura is pooling around the nape of her neck and any attempts to divert it elsewhere have only caused the patient severe pain. Since our machines can't scan through such a dense collection of aura, we have been unable to ascertain the cause of the pooling."

"And you still want to send her back to her classes?" Glynda asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

"With restrictions, Professor," The doctor stated flatly, "She will be unable to participate in combat exercise and she will have to come in for check-ups at least once a week until her aura returns to its normal state."

"That probably won't sit well with her. She does take great pride in her ability to fight and develop her skills with her weapon." Glynda sighed. She could tell from her last visit with the young student that she was really looking forward to getting back to training with 'her sweetheart.'

"Unfortunate, but necessary," The doctor stated, "Without being able to find out what her aura is doing, I have to take into account the possibility of a fatal reaction to a full aura collapse and as such must bar her from fighting."

"Very well," Ozpin said.

"But sir-"

"Glynda, Miss Rose has been cooped up in that bed for a week now, she is anxious to get back to her daily activities. I see no reason to refuse if her doctor thinks she is well enough."

"Understood." Professor Goodwitch sighed.

"You have my full permission to release Miss Rose if you feel she is ready for classes doctor, now is that all?"

"Yes, headmaster."

 _-RWBY Dorm, 2 days later-_

Ruby looked at the mirror one last time before leaving the team's shared bathroom. It was still strange to see the scar that sat above her right eye and she wondered why her aura didn't heal the wound. Sighing she turned to leave the room.

As she entered the main dorm, she found that Weiss was still there waiting for her.

"How are you feeling, Ruby?" Her partner asked.

"As good as I can be with this," She replied holding up a piece of paper.

 _'Due to complications with aura management, Ruby Rose is forbidden from participating in combat exercises until further notice. - Doctor Satin'_

Weiss sighed, "Look, your aura was probably just overtaxed from the concussion. A few more days and you'll be fighting fit again," She said trying to comfort her young leader.

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one that's not allowed to fight." Ruby cried puffing her cheeks out in childish frustration, "And my first class back after a week in the infirmary is, of course, combat!"

"Well, you should take this time to analyze our opponents and come up with strategies for the tournament."

"And if I can't fight in the tournament?"

"We'll just have to show them Team RWBY is still the best even one member down. And anyways, the tournament's still a month away, you'll be better by then."

" _Only_ a month away, you mean! Why did this have to happen?" The young leader cried.

Weiss sighed at her partner's frustration and looked at the clock, "Well, we need to leave now or we'll be late for class."

The two left the room with an annoyed Weiss dragging a sullen Ruby through the halls.

 _-Combat Hall-_

Pyrrha stood across the arena from Cardin. Once again he had challenged her to a fight, and Professor Goodwitch had decided to allow it. The tournament veteran took stock of her opponent. His mace would only be an issue if it managed to hit her, but she already knew it wouldn't, otherwise her opponent didn't look to have anything other than brute force at his disposal. Overall is should be an easy fight, not even a warm-up. Pyrrha took a breath and purged her mind of everything but the battle. It didn't help to come into a fight expecting to win.

The buzzer rang and Cardin charged with his mace held high. The brute smashed it down expecting an easy hit, but Pyrrha merely side-stepped the blow while raising her shield at an angle. The mace slid off the shield harmlessly and she stabbed at Cardin's exposed side with her weapon in spear form.

Cardin was able to backpedal to avoid the stab, but Pyrrha anticipated this and shifted her weight to deliver a solid kick to his now exposed leg. He fell to the ground and rolled back to his feet only for his face to meet with the edge of her shield. Cardin was laying on his back as Pyrrha's weapon transformed into its rifle form. With a single shot, the buzzer rang and signaled the end of the battle.

"That's enough," Glynda stated to ensure no one would continue the fight.

"Damn it, your luck will run out one day, Nikos," The downed brute muttered as he left the stage.

Pyrrha shrugged and returned her her seat.

"I don't understand, did he actually expect it to go any differently?" Jaune asked, "I mean, this is, like, the twelfth time he's challenged you, Pyrrha."

"Okay, who's next," Professor Goodwitch mused, "Ah, Miss Sustrai, I don't believe we've seen you fighting yet today, have we?"

"I would love to," Emerald said, moving to the arena.

"Now who should you fight?"

"How about Ruby, she hasn't fought today either?"

"I'm afraid Miss Rose is not allowed to participate in combat exercises right now."

Mercury chuckled, "I heard a rumor that she's lost control of her aura, is that true?"

Cardin bit at the remark, "Lost control of her aura, doesn't that mean she should be kicked out?"

Other students jumped into the conversation.

"You can't be a Hunter if you can't control your aura, right?"

"Talk about useless, her team probably won't be able to compete in the tournament!"

"Well actually," Weiss snapped silencing the gossipers, "Beacon doesn't expel people should they lose the ability to obtain their Hunter's License. The academy is able to provide degrees in varying fields of discipline should circumstances prevent regular graduation. If I recall the degrees that are offered in Beacon rival those of the best universities on Remn-"

"Weiss!" Yang growled, red-eyed.

Weiss looked around and saw Ruby, curled up to look as small as possible, just trying to look invisible.

She gasped, "Ruby I-."

"Miss Schnee, Would you like to fight Miss Sustrai?" The professor interjected to get the class back on track.

Weiss nodded slightly and moved down to the arena. In that moment everyone stopped focusing on Ruby and turned to watch as the next fight started. Ruby wasn't interested in the fight. She kept herself small as thought more painful than words rushed through her head.

 _'What if I'm never able to fight again?'_

 _'If I can't be a Huntress, what good am I?'_

 _'Would my team be better off without me?'_

Enthralled by the fighting, no one noticed the silent tears flowing from the young leader's eyes.

* * *

 _A/N: No, Ruby's not out of the woods yet._

 _I hope you are all enjoying the story._

 _Please review and tell me what you think of the story._


	6. Terror

_-Beacon Cafeteria, Breakfast-_

"It's so aggravating," Weiss lamented, "She hardly eats, rarely sleeps and has completely drowned herself in schoolwork!"

"What's going on Weiss?" Jaune asked walking up to Team _WBY's table with Pyrrha, "We could hear you from outside."

"She, just, I don't know..." Yang sighed burying her head in her hands

"Ruby?" Pyrrha asked

"Yeah, in the past four days she's been avoiding us as much as she can. She's usually out of the room before we wake up. Blake said she's been going to the library just studying by herself." Yang explained.

"Normally, we wouldn't really have a problem with that, but she's been constantly woken up every night from her nightmares. At least she was asleep when we left the room this morning" Weiss added.

"Ruby also hasn't been to the cafeteria since she's left the infirmary. It's like how I was before the dance, but worse." Blake finished.

"That sounds bad," Jaune stated, "Have you told her doctor?"

"Yup, he pushed her scheduled checkup from next Saturday to tomorrow, told us to keep an eye on her and inform him if things get worse. Where's Ren and Nora?" Yang tried to change the subject.

"Nora's slept in, so Ren is trying to wake her up."

"Speaking of sleeping in," Weiss suddenly said yawning, "Since we don't have classes today, I think I'm going to head back to the room. I just can't sleep when that deathtrap above my head is swinging that frantically." The snow-haired heiress got up and left as the rest of the group continued to chat away.

 _-RWBY Dorm-_

Weiss entered the room slowly noticing the sleeping Ruby at the desk by the window. She must have woken up and started doing some of her homework while they were gone, but it seemed that the lack of sleep was too much for the red-clad leader. Weiss didn't think Ruby was comfortable sleeping in the chair like that, so she carefully picked the younger girl up and placed her on Blake's bed. Blake could deal with Ruby's drooling.

With Ruby soundly asleep on a bed Weiss grew curious about what she was working on at the desk. She looked through the assortment of papers, most of which were assignments given out during her time in the infirmary. As she dug through the papers she found a drawing. It looked to be of Ruby, but she wore an outfit similar to her leader's, but it was white with black trimming. Her cape was Grimm-hide black, and her hair didn't look to have the red tint to it that Ruby's did. The girl was drawn sitting in the chair that Ruby had been sleeping in when Weiss arrived. She was reading a large black book with a blurred out title.

Putting the curious drawing down she picked up Ruby's dream journal. Blake suggested that their leader start keeping one to help her recall her nightmares and give help give her ideas to move past them. Weiss opened the book. The first entry described the drawing she had just looked at and ended with the phrase, 'This is Kuro.' Weiss reexamined the image and noticed that she had missed the girl's black sclera surrounding her pristine silver eyes.

A scream echoed through the room, and Weiss turned around.

"Ruby, I'm sorry I di-" The heiress looked shocked. Her leader had not woken up, and she was thrashing about on the bed shrieking like a banshee. Weiss froze. She didn't know what to do. She had never seen this happen before.

The door exploded off its hinges as Nora and Ren charged into the room. Ren immediately ran to Ruby's side.

"Quick Weiss call her sister." He ordered calmly.

Weiss did as she was told shaken from panic watching her best friend and partner shriek, cry and thrash about on the bed.

"Yang, Ruby was sleeping she just started scre-" She started as her teammate answered, she was cut off by Yang.

"Blake, we need to head to the infirmary now, the doctor will need to know about this." She shouted, obviously she heard her sister's cries.

"Yang, what do I do?" Weiss was still panicked. Ren was keeping an eye on Ruby, and Nora looked how Weiss felt.

"Can you hit this note? Laa" Yang asked.

"Yeah, Laa, See but abo-"

"Sing with me, it'll help." Yang seemed far too calm for hearing the screams of her sister through a scroll.

 **{Cue: Gold. RWBY Volume 1 OST, Track 06}**

Weiss listened. Yang said it would help, so she sang along. Even through the scroll, she was surprised that the brute could sing so well. Weiss had heard her singing in the shower many times to ill effect. The song was beautiful and loving. It fit the two sisters perfectly. As the song went on Ruby's shrieks transformed into heavy pants as she was finally able to breathe normally. Her thrashing slowed to a stop, and as the song ended Ruby looked as peaceful and serene as she did when Weiss first put her into the bed.

"What was tha-" Weiss started, only to be cut off by Yang again.

"Sorry princess, I have to go, telling the doc what's up." The phone buzzed as the annoying blonde hung up on her.

"That insufferable..." Weiss muttered before turning to Ren, "What just happened?" She asked sincerely.

"Ruby had a sleep terror," Ren replied, "Sorry if I seemed bossy, Nora used to get them a lot when she was younger."

"No, I should be thanking you, I had no idea what to do."

"There isn't much to do, besides making sure she doesn't hurt herself," Ren stated.

"Wait, but Yang said the singing would help."

"It did, you stopped panicking after all. A rushed decision made in panic usually doesn't end well. The song is probably something important to her and Ruby."

"I see, it was a nice song. I should ask them about it later."

Weiss turned back to the desk, looking at Ruby's journal again. She flipped the page to see five entries all saying the same thing. 'Kuro sitting in the chair reading the book. The book terrifies me. I don't know why.' Weiss turned back to the drawing. _'So she drew her nightmare, but why?'_ Weiss then noticed something new on the page of the drawing. It was indented up as if there was writing on the back.

She turned the page over to see into the younger girls mind.

'Day 1:

The book is important; I must find out more about it.

Day 2:

I tried to get closer to the book in the nightmare, to see if I could read it. It didn't work. Dream ended.

Day 3:

New approach I'll draw the blurs out see if I can notice something.'

Day 4:'

I've figured out some of the characters. The first gives me some clue as to the design of the others.

The third and seventh are the same. I've never seen these types of letters before'

Below was the blurred title of the book set much larger. It had a grid running through it as if Ruby was trying to ascertain the size of the characters. The first, third and seventh characters of what looked to be a nine letter word were written below it in the same grid like pattern. Weiss didn't recognize the letters at all. Her thoughts turned to someone who would.

"I need to talk to Oobleck. He'd probably understand this." She thought out loud.

Ren walked up and looked over the sheet, "Yes, I think that would be smart. Maybe he'd have a clue as to the writing on the book if it exists."

Nora turned the page over, "She's kinda cute, though, her eyes are a little weird."

"Can you two keep an eye on Ruby while I'm gone?"

"You betcha!" Nora shouted.

"Try not to wake her, she needs some rest."

Weiss left the room and headed to Oobleck's office. She was lucky to find that he was there.

"Ah, Miss Schnee, how may I help you?" Oobleck looked up from something he was reading.

"Well, Profess-"

"Doctor."

"Doctor Oobleck, It's about Ruby."

"Hmm, is Miss Rose having trouble with this weeks assignment?"

"No, it's something else," Weiss held up the drawing of Kuro, with the back facing Doctor Oobleck so he could see the writings.

"Hmm, and what might this be, Miss Schnee?"

"It's from Ruby's nightmares. I thought if this book existed that maybe you could help us find it."

"Let's see," Oobleck snatched the paper from Weiss, "Hmm, this text... Ah, I recognize it from 'The Lost Text's of Ancient Menagerie' a good book, by the way, I highly recommend it to any fledgling scholar."

"That's a good start, I think."

"Yes, Miss Rose is quite amazing to pull this from such blurry text. I'll hold on to this Miss Schnee. If this book exists I'll find it."

"Thank you, Doctor, but we don't even know why it's important, I expected to need to try harder to convince you to help."

"Nonsense, Miss Rose is one of my best students. If she thinks the book may exist, I'm more than willing to entertain her intuition. Now, off you go, I have to make a call and you should be keeping an eye on your partner."


	7. In The Eyes

Weiss return to the dorm room and as she opened the door she heard the voices of Team JNPR and the rest of her team discussing something.

"I don't care if you thought it was the right thing to do. You should have stopped her!" Yang's voice was anything but silent.

"It's no big deal," Nora whined, "Weiss is only doing what she can to help."

"She had no right to do that without asking Ruby's permis-"

"If you have some to say about _my_ actions, Xiao Long," Weiss barged into the room not content to hear someone else be targeted for her choice, "Then talk to me."

Ruby looked up from her seat on Blake's bed and seeing Weiss, she growled slightly. The heiress realized that she had never seen Ruby truly angry before as her young leader jumped to her feet and stalked over to her partner. A loud crack was heard and Ruby left the room.

"I hate you!" She shouted before slamming the door behind her.

Weiss blinked raising her hand to her now stinging cheek, "She slapped me?"

"Less than you deserve," Yang puffed her red eyes bore into the heiress making her feel uncomfortable.

"I should apologize, shouldn't I?"

She didn't receive an answer from the brawler as she left the room her partner right behind her. Blake merely shook her head in disappointment.

"Miss Schnee, you breached your friend's trust. A simple apology will not be enough," The doctor said flatly, "But seeing as we can't change the past, did Oobleck agree to help?"

Weiss hung her head. She still felt it was the right choice, but with how Ruby acted she felt a bit ashamed, "Yes, he already has a clue as to how to find the book. He said the writing was similar to the lost texts of Menagerie. He's looking into it right now."

"Hmm, I see," he mused for a bit, "Well, I should be heading back to the infirmary. You should be going after your partner. An apology may not be enough, but it is a start." The doctor left the room calmly.

"She'll probably try to avoid you for a while," Pyrrha mused.

"You should buy her some cookies, it may help you get close enough to talk to her," Jaune stated, coming up with the foundation for a plan.

 _-Beacon Cafeteria-_

Ruby found herself sitting in the back most corner of the cafeteria. It was mostly empty at this time of day so she would be easily spotted if someone were to come in. Ruby hoped that she had given her sister and Blake the slip. She figured this would be the last place they would look for her since she hadn't been eating much lately.

" _Thinking about something, Rosepetal?"_ Ruby's attention turned to the raven haired girl sitting beside her, _"You've been brooding for a while. Come on, you can tell me, I won't betray you like our so called friends would."_ Ever since her nightmares started Ruby had seen Kuro everywhere. Usually, she was sitting on her bed watching her. Ruby would retreat to the quieter and more secluded areas of the academy to avoid her, but she was always there waiting and watching.

Ruby only remembered bits and pieces of her experience in the tunnels after the breach and, all in all, they painted Kuro to be a kind person. She Helped Ruby figure out what happened after she fell in and comforting her after something distressed her but it was the stuff Ruby didn't remember that caused her to doubt the sincerity of her dark-eyed doppelganger.

" _Oh, you're thinking of me, aren't you?"_ The shade guessed, _"Can't figure out that uneasy feeling you get around me, eh?"_

Ruby nodded silently.

 _As I told you in Mountain Glenn, I'm the dark half of your soul. You're supposed to feel uneasy around me."_ Kuro's logic made sense to the young Rose, _"But it doesn't mean you shouldn't trust me."_ Kuro had a sly grin, _"I mean I did warn you that Schnee was nothing but trouble. It's as if she's going out of her way to get you labeled as a lunatic."_

"Ruby!"

" _Eh? Well, speak of the devil,"_ Kuro gave a loud chuckle.

Ruby glared sharply at Kuro. Behind the shade, Weiss took a step back.

"I... Well... I'm kno-" Weiss stuttered under the glare she seemed to perceive was for her. That was all the evidence Ruby needed to know that Weiss couldn't see Kuro.

"You have cookies," Ruby observed watching the pouch in her partner's hand, "You are forgiven."

"Thank... you?"

"Do you think we could talk for a bit?" Ruby asked shyly, fearing that Weiss would leave her alone with the shade again.

" _I'm the only friend you'll need, Rosepetal,"_ Kuro's voice had a song-like tone to it.

"Of course, what do you ne-"

"I've been hallucinating," She blurted out almost too quickly.

"What! How long?" Weiss asked in shock, "Have you told your doctor."

"No," Ruby admitted, "It started happening about the same time my nightmares started, I keep seeing _her_."

"Her? The girl from the drawing?"

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, it's why I left the room in such a rush, she likes sitting on my bed."

"You aren't mad at me for taking the drawing to Oobleck?"

"No, I'm not," Ruby hung her head down, "I just don't feel safe in the same room as her. I don't know why I just feel she's dangerous."

Ruby looked around the cafeteria. It wasn't so empty anymore as Yang and Blake both found a seat at a table near her and Weiss. They were obviously listening in on their discussion. At another table, Team JNPR were chatting among themselves. Something was odd and it took Ruby a minute to realize what. Kuro had vanished. The raven haired shade was no longer sitting across from her.

 _'Sorry for disappearing on you,'_ The shade's voice rang through her mind and caused her head to ache.

"Ruby your eyes," Weiss nearly fell out of her seat, "One sec I have a mirror with me."

As her partner reached into her pocket, Ruby put her hand against her face. Nothing felt wrong.

 _'But it's time for a show,'_ Kuro chimed as Weiss pulled the mirror out, flipping it open towards her partner.

Ruby stared at the mirror, Kuro stared back. The red haired girl punched Weiss in the gut, _"Sorry, Ice Queen, but I've got to run,"_ Ruby vanished into a cloud of black and red rose petals.

'What? Why did you do that?' Ruby screamed in the back of her mind.

" _Do? I didn't do anything,"_ Kuro laughed heedless of if anyone could hear her speaking to herself, _"I'll explain soon enough. I still have a story to tell you, remember?"_ Kuro laughed as she pushed Ruby's body to go as fast as she could.

"Weiss!" Yang and Blake were both kneeling beside the winded heiress, "Why did Ruby punch you?"

"I- I think I just met Kuro." Weiss gasped.

* * *

 _A/N: I'm sorry it took so long for me to finish this chapter. I was watching cat videos on the internet._


	8. Grimmoire

"What do you mean you've 'met Kuro?' Who the hell is Kuro?" Yang's voice, and eyes indicated that the blonde was about ready to smack the heiress herself.

"Kuro is the girl that Ruby has been having nightmares about for the past few days," Weiss explained.

"Not to mention the hallucinations," Blake added.

"So, you were listening in!"

"Don't go acting like I should know this stuff when you only know it from prying into her personal effects without her permission, Ice Queen."

" _Hey_ , I'll have you kno-"

"Ah, girls, there you all are!" Oobleck's sudden arrival shocked them all. "We found the book! Where's your leader? She'll need to hear this."

"She attacked Weiss and ran off," Yang growled, "We don't know where she is."

"The whites of her eyes went black, like Kuro's, then she ran off in a flurry of rose petals saying something like 'sorry, Ice Queen, but I've got to run,' Weiss explained, "She sounded different, I think it was actually Kuro and not Ruby."

"That is very bad," Oobleck mused. He waved over team JNPR, "We'll need all the help we can get to find Miss Rose, Vale is a big place after all, but we should all understand what we are dealing with first."

"This is the Grimmoire, the book you've been looking for," Port stepped forward holding a thick black book with gold text written in a foreign language, "Now, Miss Rose was on the right track when she started looking. she probably would have figured out the title pretty quickly herself.

"Not only were the third and seventh letters identical but so were the second and eighth as well as the fourth and fifth. Knowing this we were able to uncover the only book in the collection that matched the limitations we had in our search. Luckily for us, Professor Port here, had ordered an unabridged copy nearly three years ago.

"The Grimmoire is a book about Grimm written by an ancient scholar from Menagerie well over four thousand years ago. It categorizes Grimm into three types. Type one Grimm, denoted by a capital 'I' in Port's copy, are standard ground-based Grimm we've all met and fought before. Beowolves as an example. Type two, denoted by two capital 'I's, are avian Grimm, like Nevermore. Now the type three Grimm, three capital 'I's, are known as possession type Grimm. We have few examples of these types of Grimm and most of the pages dealing with them are prefixed with the tag 'Possible mental illness.'

"The specific Grimm we found, that matches Miss Rose's symptoms to the letter, is only known by its subcategory," As Oobleck explained Port handed out a sheet of paper to each of the students. The header read:

'Possible Mental Illness

Type III-xiv

Unnamed possession-type Grimm'

"Now, as you can see, this is a Grimm that tries to control its host by attaching itself to the brain stem and mimicking signals from the brain to force the body to move at its will. The host remains conscious of all the actions the parasite does but remains powerless to stop it. We are likely dealing with a very old Grimm. Older still than the Goliaths around Mountain Glenn. If Miss Rose has lost control to this creature, then we need to find her quickly before it makes her do something she'll most likely regret."

"But don't possession Grimm only attach themselves to inanimate objects?" Weiss asked curiously.

"All currently known Possession-type Grimm have only shown to be active around inanimate objects, yes," Doctor Oobleck reply with a very grim tone. "Which is why there is a need for haste, if this is indeed a Grimm attacking Miss Rose, then not only is it a previously unknown Grimm, but a very smart one to have kept itself so well hidden for so long."

"I can think of several places she could be, sir." Yang spoke, "Some in Vale and some on Patch. We'll need help to hit them all, though," As she finished her scroll rang. She checked it and saw Penny, of all people, was calling her.

"Hello, Yang!"

Hey, have you seen Ruby around, she ran off not too long ag-"

"Actually, that is why I called you. I just saw Ruby getting on a boat not too long ago."

"Oh really, do you know where it's headed?"

"The manifest I am currently reading says the ship is bound for the Island of Patch."

"Patch! Thanks."

"Should I go after Ruby? You seem worried about her."

No. Stay there, we'll pick you up and explain everything along the way."

"Affirmative. I will talk to you soon."

"Bye, Penny." Yang hung up the scroll. "She sounds so robotic over the phone. Anyways Ruby's gone to Patch. That narrows us down to three possible locations." Weiss opened her mouth to interrupt her. "One moment, Weiss. Now, if Ruby was fully under Kuro's control why would she go to Patch."

"So, where do we look?"

"First would be our house. I doubt she will though as I don't think she'll want to talk to dad if she's trying to avoid us. Second would be Signal Academy where she'll try and find if Uncle Qrow is back from his mission. She's always trusted him more than me or dad when she's had a problem. Finally, if she wants to be alone, she'll go to Mom's Grave on the cliff face overlooking the ocean, beautiful view, so she can talk her problems away with Mom. I'll call dad and ask him to keep an eye out for Ruby at the house. We can split into two groups and check out Signal and Mom's Grave."

"Right. Good plan Miss Xiao Long," Port nodded to the huntress-in-training. "Team JNPR, you four will be with me, We'll check out Signal academy. Oobleck you take Team RWBY and head to the grave site."

"Right we'd better hurry then."

The group left meeting Penny at the docks and filling her in on the situation. Penny joined up with Oobleck's group and they made their way to Patch.

 _-Signal Academy, Patch-_

Team JNPR entered the grounds of Signal Academy with Professor Port at the head. The students of the combat school, that were near the entrance, all watched the group proceed forward. Many recognized the famed tournament fighter who had come with them.

"Is that Pyrrha Nikos, _the_ Pyrrha Nikos." One of the students said, astonishment in his voice.

"I heard she was going to Beacon, but I thought that was just a rumor." Another said gasping with excitement.

"Why is she here of all places?" said a third.

A faunus with short orange-red hair, violet eyes, and prominent fox-like ears stepped out of the group towards the Beacon team. She wore a school uniform similar in design to the Beacon uniform, but colored green and bearing the Signal logo on the left breast. She looked to be in her second or third year at the combat school.

"A-are you r-really Pyrrha N-Nikos?" The girl stuttered out nearly vibrating with excitement.

"Yes, I am."

"Oh my god, I'm like you biggest fan," The girl suddenly gushed out her eyes nearly turning into stars. "I mean you've probably heard that like a million times or som-"

As the girl gushed another red haired faunus strode out of the group, "Erin, that's enough!" She nearly shouted at the enthusiastic girl. She had the same fox-like ears as the younger girl, but she looked older than the first. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail and had its last two inches bleached a bone white, similar to a fox's tail.

"But Mars, it's her! It's really _her_ ," the younger girl called Erin blurted out waving a hand pointed directly at Pyrrha.

"I can see that, but it's not polite to just pounce on som-"

"I didn't pounce on her!"

"Yet!" Mars finished. "Amy, Sapph can you to get my sister somewhere where she can hyperventilate in peace."

Two other girls stepped forward to grab Erin and drag her away.

"No! But... Please!" The young fox struggled against the grip of the two older girls in forlorn hope of reaching her idol.

"Sorry about that, my sister can get," Mars paused. "excitable at times."

"No worries, it's not the first time that's happened," Pyrrha admitted.

"So, welcome to Signal Academy, I'm Marsali Roane. Can I help you with anything?"

"Ahem, yes," Port started, "Could you take us to the headmaster's office. We have an urgent matter to discuss with her regarding one Ruby Rose."

"Ruby? But she's not..." Marsali started with a hint of worry in her voice, "Oh yeah, she's going to Beacon. Right. this way!" She started leading Team JNPR and Professor Port towards the academy.

* * *

 _A/N: Surprise cameo from my OCs. I wasn't planning on doing anything with the Signal end of things, but I decided to add some Pyrrha fame in. Because Pyrrha is awesome, and Erin happens to idolize Miss Nikos. I hope no one minds the cameo, The next chapters will focus back on Ruby and Kuro. It's getting close to end game._

 _And for those who don't know Possession-type Grimm come from the Japanese RWBY Manga._


	9. Parasite

_-Summer's Gravestone-_

" _Ah yes, this will do nicely,"_ Kuro spoke through her host easily. Her voice was full of arrogant pride. _"We have some time for questions if you like Rosepetal."_

'Why are we here?' Was all Ruby could think to ask. 'I mean you could have gone anywhere you wanted, but you chose the place people are most likely to look for me.'

" _That is exactly why Rosepetal,"_ The parasite answered. _"I'm in control, yes, but I still need to break you and what better way to do that than to have you watch helplessly as_ _ **you**_ _kill your friends."_

'Why?' The pain was evident in Ruby's thought.

" _To destroy any lingering doubt over who is in control now."_ Kuro hissed. _"Next question."_ As she waited for the trapped soul to figure out her next question, Kuro sat at the edge of the cliff. She examined the horizon gleefully.

'How are you controlling me?'

 _"Oh, That's simple. I've attached myself to your brain stem, and I intercept the flow of information from your brain to your body replacing it with my commands."_ The shade smiled, _"I could have done it sooner, to be honest, but I been trying to break you first. You proved too stubborn to break through your mind, so I've decided we needed a more,"_ She paused as if thinking of the correct word. _"Extreme approach."_

'What are you?' Ruby asked her next question quickly to change the subject.

" _Right,"_ The shade chuckled. _"I'm a Grimm... No larger than a speck of dust in my native state. I spend most of my time sleeping, hibernating, waiting for someone to attach myself too. I sometimes get picked up accidentally by the lesser beasts of the world and moved around to new places, but most of the time I end up staying in the same area for decades or centuries._

 _"My first victim was a scholar in an ancient kingdom in what you now call Menagerie. Well, at first he was a soldier, one of the few with unlocked Aura in that day and age. Once he was heralded as a hero by slaying many Grimm by himself, but he turned out to be a fraud. Smoke and mirrors sort of stuff. When I found him, he was already broken. I wanted to learn about humans and faunus, so we had a more... symbiotic relationship._

 _"I helped him write that book I showed you. Most of it is useless, so even if they do find it, they aren't likely to find_ _ **me**_ _. He eventually died like all men do and I waited again for a new host._

 _"My second host was a puppeteer of sorts. He spent his entire life on those creepy dolls of his. It was fun breaking him by making him think his creations were talking to him. I made a mistake with that one. I pissed off the wrong guy, and my host ended up dead in a ditch. I barely had time to escape or the shock of his death would've killed me as well._

 _"The next few centuries weren't that interesting. I hopped from one glorified fool masquerading as a hero to the next almost as quickly as some change shirts in a week. During this time, I ended up in those tunnels. I was nearly killed by those lesser Grimm that hide away down there. They caught my host off guard, but they tore him apart slowly giving me time to escape._

 _Now we come to you, Rosepetal. I was perfectly content with leaving you alone and waiting for a more suitable host, but then I noticed your eyes. Those damned silver eyes! I would have let you be and waited for another, but I remember the slaughters those eyes of your kin have caused. I want_ _ **them**_ _. I-"_

'What's so special about my eyes?'

" _You..."_ Kuro stopped for a beat. _"Don't know?"_

'Know what?'

" _Oh nothing,"_ The shade laughed, _"Just one less thing to worry about going wrong."_

 _-Cliffside Forest-_

The group of five trudged up the unkempt forest path slowly. Yang had taken the lead as she was the one who knew the route the best. Following closely behind her were Blake and Penny who both seemed unperturbed by the dense foliage covering their 'path.' Weiss struggled to follow behind them at a distance with Oobleck behind her making sure she didn't lose her way.

"So, how exactly are we going to get this thing out of Ruby, Doc?" Yang suddenly asked.

"For any parasite attached to the brain, the Grimmoire states that we need to kill the host to kill it-"

"What!?"

"-But seeing how medical sciences have improved since the book was written, we've decided that an emergency surgery to cut out the beast would be the better option. It goes without saying that this will be the first time this operation has ever been performed and Professor Port will be investigating Signal's medical facilities to see if it has the proper tools we need. Time is of the essence, so let us move quickly."

"We're almost there, Doc."

" _Well, Rosepetal, any more questions?"_ Kuro laughed. _"Oh, that? Hmm, That will have to wait It seems we have company."_ The corrupted young leader turned as Yang, Blake, and Penny emerged from the forest followed shortly by the trailing Weiss and Oobleck.

'But I didn't-'

" _They can't hear you, Rosepetal,"_ Kuro sighed as she sized up her prey. _"How adorable, you brought the robot."_

"Ruby you pro-"

"Penny, that's not Ruby speaking, it's the parasite," Yang interrupted. Though she was shocked by the revelation saving her sister was far more important.

" _Parasite? Oh, so you did find me. Then you-"_

"Wait, you are a robot?" Weiss asked in shock staring at the very real looking girl in front of her. Kuro growled in response to being cut off, and Yang just sighed.

"That does explain a lot," Blake replied.

"Girls, save the Q and A until after we save your leader."

 _"So, you do realize the only way to save Ruby is to kill her, right?"_ Kuro laughed as she watched the reactions of the group. _"Here I'll even make it easy for you. No aura."_ The parasite raised it's host's left hand showing a small trickle of blood billowing with black smoke. The smoke collapsed onto itself forming a long black rod and a white bone-like substance burst from the tip of the rod forming a large curved blade. Kuro had created a scythe.

" _So, who's first?"_ The parasite laughed as she flourished her newly made weapon just like Ruby would.

* * *

 _A/N: Sorry for the long delay in getting this finished. FFXIV updated, so I spent a lot of time doing the new story quests and then my brother bought a PS4. So Yeah... 3 weeks late. I hope you are all enjoying the story so far we are coming close to the end now. And Knight7572, I'm sorry I never replied to your question. I didn't want to spoil it. :3_


	10. To Fall For You

_A/N: I must apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out. After my (failed) attempt at a NaNoWriMo novel, I sorta hit a writer's block, and completely forgot about the story itself until someone recently followed it. We are coming near the end of the story now. Sorry for the wait!_

* * *

Kuro tapped her foot impatiently as she stared down the line of opponents in front of her. Her current situation was not ideal, but with Ruby being so steadfast in her stubborn resistance to being the parasite's new host she had been forced to take the dangerous approach.

She sighed as she assessed her opponents. Yang would probably be the most dangerous to fight. The parasite knew that family had a way of making a host more resilient to being controlled. Her semblance was also an issue. With her being able to use the force of her opponent's strikes to become more powerful, Kuro couldn't rely on taking her out quickly without risk. On the other hand, if she could push her into a rage her increased power could be nullified by her wild and aggressive demeanour.

Her next biggest challenge would most likely be either Penny or Weiss. The android somehow produced an aura of her own and Ruby had seen her fight to great effect against those rebelling animals. She also had a far greater mass than one would predict from her size, which meant she could easily take the advantage in a head-on fight.

The Ice Queen was most likely the weakest of her opponents in a purely physical combat sense, but her strength came from the versatility of her family's semblance. She had a vast knowledge of dust and her choice of weapon allows her to forgo straight physical strength should the point connect with an unprotected enemy.

The faunus was next in her list. Blake was the most experienced fighter of the students due to her history. The stolen memories of Kuro's host showed that the kitten's semblance made direct strikes more or less pointless and her recent training with Weiss to learn how to better augment her powers with dust made properly quantifying her against her peers difficult. The only reason she fell to the bottom of the list was due to her reclusive behaviour which led to her having a naturally weaker emotional bond with Ruby.

Finally, she acknowledged the eldest of the group. Doctor Oobleck was quite literally a wild card to Kuro's assessment of the group. He was a fully trained and licensed hunter as well as a scholar. Her host had seen little of his fighting style, though he did take out one of those Paladin things with very little effort. He was dangerous, but the parasite had no way to compare him to the rest of the group.

Kuro sighed as the group before her stared her down, _"They are waiting for us to make the first move aren't they, Rosepetal?"_ The parasite mused aloud. _"They really don't want to hurt you, I'd wager."_

Yang growled in response. Kuro found this entrancing. Her hosts older sister must be so pissed off right now, but she still couldn't bring herself to attack it seemed. The beast stared into the blonde brawler's burning red eyes, _"How does it feel to know you've failed to protect your precious little sister? To have let her become the very monster she tried so hard to defeat?"_ She taunted Yang boisterously, _"Sometimes I wonder if you're more of a monster than I am."_ Kuro laughed joyously at her opponent's rage.

'No...' Ruby thought helplessly, her body taking an instinctive step back in response.

"Ruby!" Yang's shout surprised Kuro until she noticed why. Her foot did not find any ground behind it.

 _'How did...?'_ The parasite thought in shock as Ruby fell from the cliff. It panicked and twisted their body around facing the ocean abyss below, " _Damn hero types,"_ She muttered as a sharp pain became apparent in the back of Ruby's neck.

'Well, hehe, while you were thinking up a strategy for dealing we my friends, I was moving us closer to the cliffs.' Ruby smiled slightly, 'I was doing it slowly so you wouldn't notice. I... I can't let you use me. Even if it means...' Tears fell from her eyes.

After a few moments, Ruby had expected some sort of response from Kuro, but she became dreadfully silent since they started falling. She flexed her hand curiously before realising something. _Kuro was gone._ Ruby panicked as she didn't feel the parasite's presence anymore, and she was falling not so graciously towards the sea below.

Ruby tried to call her aura, to cushion the blow when she eventually would hit, but it still didn't respond to her. She realised she wouldn't survive the plummet as tears flowed freely from her eyes. She had failed her team as a leader, she had failed herself.

She felt a tug on her cloak, She twisted herself to look up.

'Penny?'

The robotic girl mouthed something wordlessly through the wind rushing past her ears. She wrapped her arms tightly around Ruby's waist and two of her swords shot out of her backpack almost like grappling hooks. It was so cool. Ruby couldn't think anything but that until a sharp pain rocked through her as both she and Penny stopped a little too suddenly.

Ruby felt like a rag doll that had been bashed against a counter as Penny slowly reeled them slowly up to the top of the cliff face. "My apologies, Ruby my friend, I didn't anticipate the force of the acceleration to be so extreme."

"Don't worry about it," Ruby groaned, "But, how did you catch up to me?"

"Oh, you were mostly horizontal for the duration of your fall, which allowed for more wind resistance and slowed your terminal velocity enough for me to measure an optimal angle to fall at to ensure I did not overshoot and fly past you," Penny answered cheerfully.

It took them several minutes of gentle climbing (Penny wanted to avoid injuring Ruby further) before the two of them made it to the top of the cliff and into the awaiting bear hug of a much relieved Yang.

"Don't ever do that again!" The elder sister chastised the younger, "You can't imagine how worried I was. You could have died and.. and..." Yang burst into tears hugging the now safe Ruby.

"It's good to see you're all right, Miss Rose," Doctor Oobleck said watching the moment, "but Miss Xiao Long, I think you're sister will need air soon or this entire expedition will be for nought."

"Oh, hehehe, right..." Yang laughed nervously as she released her sister.

Ruby gasped heavily for air, unable to say anything. A creeping feeling caused her to look towards the forest.

" _ **Aren't you forgetting someone?"**_


End file.
